I have been delving through this work
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Society-Pompeii-He...8&s=gateway
being a great lover of Pompeii and Herculaneum. As far as the social hierarchy of houses and their internal layouts go I have started a thread here:
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?showto...amp;#entry43683
the changing styles of layout and decoration ,are intimate to the social upheavals of the period from the late Republic to approximately the death of Pliny The Elder. Indeed Pliny is
Hemlock was the poison used to execute Socrates for corrupting youth and neglecting the Gods...it contains two poisonous alkaloids coniine and coniceine (the plant is named Conium maculatum). These block the transmission of nerve impulses which cause death by failure of respiration (ie: one ceases to try to breathe).
The actual execution (as described by Plato) has the executioner examining the victims legs and feet , pressing them to see if the sensation is lost in these extremities , the nu
As many of you will be aware , I am trying to recreate the appropraite "medium" for appropriate herbal medicines as used in the Roman world. Andrew Dalby was kind enough to suggest that a species of cheap Malaga would be a good approximation, in terms of palate and (probably) appropriate quality for usage by the rough soldiery. As we have discussed in the forum various common medicines were stored in amphorae , with the herb macerated in a wine base. This form of storage is still , in essence, t
"those who have swallowed quicksilver find a remedy in lard. Poisons-especially henbane, mistletoe,hemlock, sea-hare , and others-are neutralised by drinking ass's milk. "
"Bear-grease mixed with laudunum and maidenhair, prevents baldness and cures mange and thin eyebrows if compounded with lamp -black from lamp wicks.Mixed with wine bear grease is a cure for dandruff" (complex fatty acid/lettuce/maidenhair/carbon -q a mix)
Pliny might be a bit shaky in this area so dont shoot any bear
"Plague" as an event in altering the possible course of history looms large in the Roman and Medieval Worlds. Elsewhere on this blog and in the Forum discussion has occurred touching "what the plagues might have been?"That is can we be sure that bubonic plague is the identifiable catastrophic disease? The short answer is no we cant. Bubonic plague might well be a co-factor in a given incidence of plague, a taker of life and a causative factor in economic ruin , but certain other possibilities
Some of you will have noticed that "Another Roman Recipe to Delight All" thread had a recent burst of life, when I decided to try out a "Roman Army Bread" recipe ( which I found on a bag of spelt flour I bought).
Im well aware that I should be baking flat loaves in a field oven , or in the ash of a windblown campfire, however I prefer to use the modern medium of a breadmaking machine in case my experiments go awry and I set fire to a sizeable area of countryside.
I strongly recommend tryin
I have encountered a case today of a person suffering systemic poisoning by antimony trisulphide. This is fairly unusual , but not impluasible as he has been working with heavy machine bearings which contain an alloy of antimony .Antimony has a very strange history as a medicine, a cosmetic , part of a weapon system and a medieval re-usable laxative. Antimony is toxic if one has more than 100 milligrams in the body, indeed 2 mg is the norm for an adult. Rather unfortunately it has had a long vog
I was just adding the Convolvulus (Morning Glory) entry to my Herbal album in the gallery and I realised that I have now managed to present a passable Toxicological catalogue.
May I regale you with the basic categories of plant toxins:
1. Inebriants-exciting cerebral functions, cause loss of co-ordination, deep sleep or fatal coma may follow.
2.Deliriant- spectral illusions and deliriousness: thirst often a direct side effect:may lead to paralysis.
3.Convulsivant-Intermittent spasms(head
Several members of the Forum have a well developed (and probably deeply unhealthy) interest in a number of plant toxins used in the ancient world, (sometimes for medicine, other times for the removal of offensive relatives/political opponents).Here I offer a small guide to some common toxic principles (having previously blogged on the main toxic categories.
Aconite: two plants actually have this name (daisy and buttercup families respectivley), the name is used to refer to the alkaloid der
What better time of year to add another toxicological entry?
Nicotine: alkaloid insecticidal chemical, can be toxic if ingested through the skin or inhaled.
Ordeal bean (Physostigma venemosum) a member of the pea family, a west African native.One quarter bean can be fatal to an adult.
Oxygen: poisinous to anerobic bacteria Which is why exposing a gangrenous wound to the air (ie: oxygen)
helps the cleansing of that wound. Essential to metabolism -many poisons work by impeding its p
One theme that runs through my blog is the appearence of things in the modern world that were well known in antiquity , but are almost forgotten today. Black Bryony (Tammus communis) is in glorious fruiting condition ,prompted by the warm weather as Britain enjoys a very belated indian summer. This is the plant known to Pliny (The Elder, as usual), as Uva Tamina.
If you had been a wealthy person suffering from gout, chilblains or ulcerated legs in Pliny's day, the macerated sap of this pl
The Carrot family provided several very interesting medicinal/culinary/deadly umbelliferous herbs to the Ancient World , and if you are careful to look them out nowadays, they are still so available. The main thing is not to get the culinary gems (Candied Angelica) mixed up with the State Poisons (Hemlock and Waterdropwort) or the top notch wound salve (Yarrow).
There are also quite a number of not so useful members of the group and one notable outsider (Valerian) that have a superficiall
The weather in Britain never fails to amaze, last weekend the LEG II got a thorough soaking at Bremetenacvm, and have had to work all week at drying and reparing kit, but today a slave had to make rounds with water for the troops who were sweltering in their armour.
So the Legion was at Gargrave, nearest therefore to Olinacvm on the road from Bremetenacvm to Eboracvm.
There is evidence of a substantial villa adjacent to the village
http://www.outofoblivion.org.uk/record.asp?id=240
I return from a fruitful photo sweep of the site of this "behind the Wall" strategic fort excavation.
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...si&img=1412
Corstopitum is a Stanegate (strategic crosss country road) installation, pre-dating Hadrian's Wall but repeatedly rebuilt as a crucial supply depot and major civilian settlement. Only a fraction of the site has been excavated , but we see that there are some impressive items in the museum , and some worthwhile remains on site.The
As I move about the countryside , I find that my mind occupies two different temporal co-ordinates; the present and sometime circa 50 BCE to 125CE . These function as two fixed points between which strange things seem to happen as regards the flow and movement of medical thought, Great modern "discoveries" turn out to be not quite as modern nor undiscovered as first appears. The form and consistency of pre-prepared medicaments has certainly improved apace, but the mis-use and overuse of these s
A rapid scouting trip to check out this pivotal city in the conquest of Britain , both as a Legionary base and a port for the Classis. The sudden onset of bad weather drove me off site , but I was able to get a few useful shots for our information.
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...si&img=1055
The amphitheatre project continues, the dig is well underway and here is the official site:
http://www.chester.gov.uk/amphitheatre/index.html
as can be seen this is the lar
A name to strike dread into the heart of many UNRV posters. Not as you may assume the Queen of Bythinia , rather we are talking downtown Bronx and Queens. Some recent members will not be aware of the dread shadow that this name casts over such a staid and scholarly forum , a man capable of posts varying from DaDa-ist "happenings" to "stream of consciousness" psychadelica. If Sigmund Freud had a darkest fear I suggest it would be Gaius Octavius, dressed as a giant chicken, perching on the headbo
Primus Pilus kindly sent me a copy of "Justinian's flea"
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Justinians-Flea-Pl...2722&sr=8-1
Which I intend to review in full shortly.I have however been receiving pms from forum members regarding both the Antonine and Justinian episodes, and I now wish to give a short summary of additional information regarding possible causation.
Of the fascinating transformation of Yersinia psuedotubercolosis into Y.pestis (the actual "plague") I will leave you to discover
The herb from which Absinthe is made .As a medicine it is excellent,strongly anthelmintic ( worm killer) and choleretic (bile stimulant) amongst other virtues. Thujone though (a volatile oil from the plant ) is a nasty hallucogen and is addictive-hence the problems suffered in 19th Century France.If the thujone is removed though the virtues of the medicine remain. I understand that ,like quassia , the wood was used for bowls and drinking vessels thereby flavouring and influencing whatever was co
This does not mean squalid as in "profane or unseemly", rather "untidy or unkempt." If my meaning is defective im sure I will be corrected.And I mean My entries not the gallery as a whole!
My intention within the Roman Herbal Gallery is to present a dual image of any significant "ancient" herb. As can be seen from the previous classification entry, I am making a basic attempt at catalouging plants used by Greek, Roman, Celtiberian and Medieval societies. Different plants have varied significa
I have two tasks to complete for the site, the report on the re-enactment at Banna Fort (Birdoswald) on Hadrian's Wall and my review of the Roman Navy in Britain. Here is the first part of the first of those tasks:
Firstly the weather was good enough , though too blustry for the hawking display to proceed. In attendance were LEGIO VIII Augusta
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...&cmd=si&img=749
I have a lot more to post here and off site on the MSN blog but that wil
The scenario is , you are on patrol 135 AD (or thereabouts) , you are an experienced mounted Auxiliary trooper with 15years service under your belt including a couple of pitched battles and some skirmishing and policing scuffles.Youve picked up a leg wound whilst intercepting some customs dodgers just north of Hadrian's Wall, nasty gash from a spear into the muscle of the calf. You are trained to report in with wounds at the double as no one wants experienced men sitting around gossiping in the
A fast recce to the small local museum in Lancaster, to peruse the Roman exhibits. This is a small municipal museum with limited space but a friendly attitude. I hope to be able to go back very soon and photograph items not on public display for your edification .
Perhaps the most striking finds here are the "Burrow Heads" a series of substantial 3rd C AD monumental carvings that appear to represent The Elements. It is said they were recovered about a mile away from the present city in 1794
Ursus produced a top notch review of the First Season;
http://www.unrv.com/hbo-rome-review.php
as usual articulate and perceptive without getting over excited.
A lot of people visit the site in search of this particular topic , and all its collateral baggage. I have therefore kicked off a Gallery devoted to the series:
http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...um&album=67
this album can be as big or small as members wish, what i think might be useful would be to look hard a
